


Flurries

by tunamayo



Category: Free!
Genre: Christmas, Drabble, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 21:49:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13132920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tunamayo/pseuds/tunamayo
Summary: It's the day before Christmas, and Makoto's parents have a fun night planned for him and Haru as they wait for Santa's arrival. Later on, Makoto and Haru recall this happy memory while staying at Haru's apartment together on Christmas Eve.





	Flurries

Makoto glances up from his coloring book to look at the front door, certain that he heard a noise. Maybe a swift shuffling of small feet, a shiver mixing with the chilly winter air, a tiny knock on the large door. He waits, but there’s no further indication of a visitor. It must have been the rustling of a leaf, blown forcefully by the wind and landing against the house. Or maybe it was nothing but his imagination.

“Mako-chan,” his mom calls, a sweetly reliable voice that can’t be mistaken for the sounds of the weather. “Are you excited that Haru-chan is sleeping over tonight?”

He turns to face his parents sitting on the couch behind him and nods, a smile spreading across his face. Two of the things that Makoto enjoys most are sleepovers with Haru and Christmas Eve. These events happening at the same time almost feels like an early gift from Santa. 

Christmas Eve is a wonderful time because he knows that in the morning, he'll have presents to wake up to. Santa always leaves his two gifts next to the small tree on Makoto’s desk. The tree is only about twenty centimeters tall, but Makoto loves setting it out each year on his birthday and decorating it with a small strand of multicolored lights and glittery ornaments. He thinks Santa must like it, too, and imagines him happy to see it out year after year.

Even though Makoto receives the same two gifts every year, he still gets excited. It has become a tradition, and he’d probably be a little disappointed if he didn’t receive what he was used to. The first box, the one that he always opens first, contains a set of mittens, a hat, and a scarf. He thinks it’s a fine gift and likes having new winter things every year he can use, especially to wear when playing outside in the snow. 

However, the second gift is more fun – a small stuffed animal, a different type each year. This one will be the sixth to add to his collection. He keeps them lined up on the ledge behind his bed, selecting a different one to sleep with each night, sometimes scooping them all into his bed when he needs the extra snuggles.

As is always the case, Christmas Eve makes him a little impatient for the next day, but that became especially true when his mom told him this morning about Haru’s visit. Time dragged on endlessly since the morning, so much so that he thought surely the day had passed already. Surely Christmas had somehow come. Surely Haru wouldn't be here after all.

But then there’s a soft knock on the door. Surely this time. Makoto jumps to his feet. Nearly tripping over his own enthusiasm, he rushes over to open it and greets Haru with his usual smile. He takes Haru’s hand to lead him inside from the cold; Haru feels warmth before even stepping inside, supposing it’s from Makoto’s bright face and cheerful words.

Makoto’s parents greet him just as happily, as though his arrival is something they’ve all been greatly anticipating. He always feels that way when he visits the Tachibanas, like he could show up at any time, completely unannounced, and be welcomed with smiles and laughter. 

“Do you want to color with me?” Makoto asks, as he and Haru sit down in front of the coloring book he had been working on just moments before. “It’s a Christmas one from grandma! You can do the reindeer on this page.”

Haru nods and scoots closer to Makoto. He thinks it’s nice that Makoto always has so much to say whenever they meet for the first time each day, as though he’d been saving up all his thoughts to share with Haru. 

Makoto keeps his eyes focused on his picture, concentrating on Haru’s advice that it’s easier to stay in the lines if you don’t press down too hard on the paper. He wants the picture to look properly finished so he can give it to grandma when she comes for New Year’s. “Oh,” he says, remembering what his parents always tell him, “but we can’t stay up too late because Santa is coming tonight, you know. He won’t come if we’re awake.” 

While searching the large crayon box for a suitable reindeer-color brown, Haru also searches for a suitable response to Makoto. Even though he stopped believing in Santa a couple years ago, he’s always careful not to spoil the fun for his best friend. He nods his understanding and starts on his picture.

When the boys finish coloring, Makoto’s parents compliment their artistry and tell them it’s time to get into their pajamas. They start toward the stairs to Makoto’s room, but his mom stops them to surprise them with a pair of matching ones – red shirts and pants with pictures of white polar bears.

“Ah, cute…” Makoto marvels, thanking his parents repeatedly for the unexpected present. “Really cute, right, Haru-chan?”

Haru nods and thanks them, too. Makoto catches his face blushing to nearly the same color as the pajamas. He’s glad that Haru likes them and also seems excited. Now they can match every time he spends the night.

Once they quickly and happily change, Makoto’s mom says that if they promise to be careful, she’ll let them sit on the couch and drink hot chocolate while they watch a Christmas movie. They nod and climb onto the couch.

Makoto’s dad turns on the movie and shakes out a fluffy blanket, tossing it over the two boys. The blanket completely covers them from head to toe, and Makoto’s dad apologizes and pretends like it was an accident. Makoto and Haru giggle as they pull the blanket down to uncover their smiling faces. Earlier it seemed like the day was hardly moving, but now it’s going much too fast. Makoto doesn’t want to go to sleep, because that will mean the end of today. Even if it means Santa won’t stop and give him his presents, he’d rather stay here on the couch next to Haru.

But even then, even if he stayed up all night, it would eventually turn to day, and Haru would have to go home. 

He tries to forget such sad things and pay attention to the movie. It seems Santa has lost his bag full of toys and is trying to find it. Except Santa for some reason is a big clumsy bear, and the reindeer are tiny chipmunk friends of his.

Haru notices Makoto has suddenly gone quiet and hopes the hot chocolate comes out soon to help him forget whatever he’s thinking about that has made him look so lonely. 

“Here we are, now!” Makoto’s mom comes out of the kitchen just in time, as if hearing Haru’s silent request. She walks over and hands each of them a plastic mug. “Be extra careful not to spill, ok? If it’s too hot or hard to hold, tell me.” 

They nod their understanding. She smiles affectionately and returns to the kitchen. Makoto still looks a little sad, so Haru does his best to make him smile.

“Your mom put in so many marshmallows, didn’t she?”

Makoto peers into his mug and giggles. “I can’t even see the hot chocolate.”

“Maybe it’s just a cup of marshmallows. She doesn’t trust us not to spill after all.”

Makoto laughs harder this time. Haru’s glad he can always somehow manage to make Makoto happy again. He might not know why he’s sad, but as long as he can make him feel better, he thinks it will be ok.

When their cups are empty and the movie is over, they continue their Christmas Eve by helping Makoto’s parents make sugar cookies. Some they’ll eat tomorrow – not for breakfast, much to Makoto’s disappointment – and some they’ll leave for Santa. 

Along with the cookies, they draw and color pictures to thank Santa for coming. Makoto draws a cat, because it’s his favorite thing to draw. He draws a Christmas tree in the background as an afterthought, because he thinks Santa will appreciate that. Haru draws an igloo, because he remembers that’s where Makoto says Santa lives, and a reindeer, because he remembers what one looks like from the coloring book.

Makoto also draws another picture, one just for Haru. It shows the two of them in their matching polar bear pajamas holding hands, snowflakes falling all around them.

Haru smiles. “Why is it snowing?”

“Santa made it snow! It should snow on Christmas.”

“Yeah, but won’t we be cold?”

“Not if we hold hands!” Makoto smiles, completely certain with his answer.

The only thing Haru can do is smile. He’s not entirely convinced by Makoto’s logic, but he accepts it regardless.

Makoto’s parents notice the children sounding sleepy, their yawns becoming more frequent, and their eyelids looking heavy, so Makoto and Haru get a quick bath before being tucked into bed.

Even with the lights off in Makoto’s room, the Christmas tree illuminates the small space quite brightly. Haru holds on to the stuffed animal he chose from Makoto’s ledge, a little red fox with a squishy tail, and shuts his eyes, yawning one more time before slowly feeling himself drift off to sleep. He’s quickly pulled back out by Makoto’s voice.

“Haru-chan,” he asks quietly. “Aren’t you worried Santa won’t bring your presents if you’re not home?”

Haru thinks and gives his best answer. “Not really.”

A pause. Maybe Makoto fell asleep. 

“Haru-chan,” he starts again, even quieter this time. “Some of the kids in class say Santa isn’t real. Is he?”

An even harder question. He doesn’t want to lie, but he also doesn’t want to ruin anything. He thinks Makoto would probably be ok knowing the truth, but ultimately decides it’s not worth the risk of finding out. “We’ll see in the morning.”

Makoto smiles, satisfied with the answer. “Yeah. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Sleep comes quickly for both of them, and the the next morning, Haru wakes up first and turns toward the window. Tiny snowflakes float past, white dots slowly falling to rest on the ground below. He smiles; Makoto will be happy. He turns back to wake him up, calling his name a few times, getting progressively louder with each attempt.

On the fourth try, Makoto opens his eyes and yawns. “Merry Christmas, Haru-chan.”

“Merry Christmas.”

Makoto sits up. His eyes and smile grow wider as he looks past Haru.

“Ah,” Haru follows his gaze to the window. “It’s snowing, just like you said—“ 

“Haru-chan! Santa left both of us presents!”

Haru realizes Makoto is looking at the desk. He notices the two small piles of gifts next to the tree. One set is wrapped in red, the other in silver. Each pile has three boxes stacked on top of each other and one oddly shaped gift on the floor. Are they really for him, too? 

Makoto scrambles out of bed, leaving Haru to follow him. They sit on the floor with their presents. Sure enough, all the red ones have Makoto’s name and the silver ones Haru’s.

They decide to open each gift together, starting with the smallest box on top. They carefully tear off the paper, revealing just a little bit of the box hiding underneath. Makoto holds up a small container of chocolate candies. He eats one immediately and offers one to Haru, even though he knows he’ll say no. Haru can only guess that his gift is the same, but it turns out to be popcorn instead of chocolate.

“Santa knows you don’t like sweets very much!” Makoto says, observing the difference in their gifts.

Haru smiles a little and opens the container. He supposes it’s fine to have some and gives a piece to Makoto, too.

The next box is a bit bigger. Makoto already thinks he knows what’s inside, and his suspicions are confirmed when he pulls out three green items: mittens, a scarf, and a hat. The mittens have a purple cartoon jellyfish on the top of each one, and he squeals in delight when he sees Haru’s blue mittens with orange cartoon starfish. Haru also got earmuffs instead of a hat, blue to match his mittens and scarf.

The last box is just a little bigger. Makoto notices Haru opening his presents with increasing excitement, smiling more freely after each one, tearing the paper more carelessly, eager to see what’s inside. Makoto feels exactly the same. They’re both so happy they don’t even notice his parents in the doorway, his mom taking pictures and his dad recording the whole thing. 

They open their boxes to find an assortment of new books – some for coloring, some for learning, and some just for reading. They also got art supplies – crayons, markers, and watercolors. They look through their books and compare what they got, making promises to share with each other and read everything together.

Makoto almost forgets about the final gift, the one on the floor, but then he remembers his stuffed animals. He and Haru tear through the wrapping paper. Indeed, they each receive a large stuffed animal. Makoto’s is an orca. He hugs it immediately and finds it’s so big it’s hard to wrap both of his arms around. He remarks how soft it it, but laments just a bit that it won’t fit on the ledge next to his others.

He sees that Haru got a stuffed dolphin. “We have to introduce them so they can be best friends,” he explains and turns his toy to face Haru’s. “Mr. Dolphin, this is Mr. Orca.”

“Nice to meet you,” Haru uses his same voice for the dolphin, making Makoto giggle.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Makoto deepens his voice for his, which also amuses Haru. “Well,” he continues as Mr. Orca, “I think you’re nice. Will you be my friend?”

“Ok. We can swim together in the ocean.”

“That sounds like fun! I love you, Mr. Dolphin!” Makoto moves the orca closer and makes a kissing sound.

Haru blushes and kisses him back. 

They play a little bit longer before eating breakfast, and then it’s right back up to Makoto’s room. They change out of their pajamas and put on their new winter accessories. Makoto’s parents help them get into their jackets and watch from the window as they play together. The snow falls faster, accumulating enough on the ground to make small snowmen.

And then it’s time for Haru to go home. Makoto’s surprised to find he’s not as sad as he thought he would be. After all, he knows Haru is just next door, and he knows they will play together again. Somehow he knows that Haru will always be there.

Makoto says goodbye to Haru and Mr. Dolphin, and his dad walks him back home, carrying his new things, making sure he doesn’t slip on the fresh snow. 

When they get to Haru's house, his own dad greets them at the door. “Wow, Haruka! Look at this stuff Santa brought you!”

“Dad, I know Santa’s not real…”

“Oh, you _know_? How do you know?”

Haru’s not really sure how to respond. It’s impossible, that’s how he knows. Isn’t it?

Makoto’s dad sees his slight hesitation and can’t resist joining in. “Well, it did snow, just like Makoto said Santa would make happen...”

Haru tries to ignore them and walks past, stopping just for a moment. “Thank you for the gifts. I… I really like them.” He blushes and walks away, feeling just the smallest bit of uncertainty that the gifts weren’t from Santa himself. 

* * *

Makoto walks swiftly toward Haru's apartment, every footstep crunching the light layer of snow beneath his feet. It’s late and dark and cold, and the only thing keeping him going is his excitement that it’s Christmas Eve.

Finally he reaches Haru’s door and hopes it’s unlocked. He doesn’t think his fingers, somehow numb even though they’re protected by thick gloves, would be able to turn the key in the lock. Luck is on his side as he pushes it open and rushes into the apartment. 

Haru sits on the floor, shifting the intense look at his laptop screen to an expressionless one at Makoto. “It’s not that cold out," he deadpans. 

“It is!” Makoto points to his wobbling chin. “Look, my teeth are chattering!”

Haru lets out a small laugh and stands up. He throws a blanket at Makoto and instructs him to sit down on the couch. “I have tea. I’ll bring you a cup.”

Makoto smiles. Haru won’t admit it, but he knows he made the tea specifically for him. Just like this blanket was out waiting for him, too.

Haru walks in and out of the kitchen, carrying a cup of tea with him. He hands it to Makoto and sits on the floor, finishing up one last bit on his laptop before shutting it down. “How was work?”

“Slow, as expected. No couples want to come to a bookstore on a date, after all.” He takes a sip of the tea. It’s perfectly hot and warms his insides instantly. He presses the mug to his red nose and sighs in relief. “I don’t think there were any customers for the last two hours.”

Most of the other students he knew had already gone home for the holidays, but Makoto picked up the dreaded Christmas Eve closing shift at work. He usually only worked a few hours at a time, so working an entire shift would bring in a nice bit of money.

He was thankful that Haru stayed back with him, even though he wouldn’t admit it was for him. As the holidays were approaching, he grew more and more homesick. Just tonight, he tells himself. Then he and Haru will be on the train back to Iwatobi. He was excited to see his family, of course, plus they had plans to meet up with Nagisa and Rei. He couldn’t wait to hear all about the new swim team.

Makoto finishes his tea and takes off his coat, finally feeling less like an icicle. “Well, even though I had to work, I’m glad we can still spend Christmas Eve together.” 

“Ah,” Haru responds, closing his laptop and sitting next to Makoto on the small couch. 

“Do you remember the one after my sixth birthday? The last one I still believed in Santa?” Makoto’s parents later told him they suspected it would be his last year for believing, so they wanted to make it extra special for him by inviting Haru over.

Haru nods and smiles fondly. “Of course.” It was a fun night, one of his favorite memories. They were carefree children, not even close to growing up yet.

Makoto laughs. “I guess we’re having another Christmas Eve sleepover like that night, yeah?” He’s not entirely sure why, but Haru’s blushing.

“I thought that, too,” Haru responds, looking away as blush spreads across his cheeks. When Makoto asked if he could spend the night after work, the memory came back to him immediately. He returns his eyes to Makoto’s, “I have some hot chocolate, in case you wanted some.”

Makoto suddenly feels every rapid beat of his heart. He’s not sure if it’s excitement or something else, but he knows that it’s because of Haru. “Really? Of course I want some!”

Haru heads to the kitchen and is gone longer than Makoto expects. He comes back out with two mugs. 

Makoto laughs when he sees the tiny marshmallows floating on top in a thick layer. It tastes rich and creamy. “This is amazing!”

“Mm, it’s better if you use real chocolate instead of the packets,” he says like it’s no big deal, like he just happened to have melted chocolate sitting around.

Makoto finishes his cup quickly and happily finishes off Haru’s, too. He told himself he’d wait until Christmas to give Haru his gift, but something about this moment seems so right. He grabs his backpack, rummages around a little, and pulls out a small silver gift bag. 

He holds it out sheepishly for Haru. “Uh, this is kind of embarrassing, but just take it!”

Haru stares at the bag. “What?”

“Your Christmas gift! Merry Christmas.”

Hesitating, he takes the bag. He pulls out the tissue paper and then the small stuffed dolphin. Tears sting his eyes. He recognizes the toy immediately from the gift shop at the aquarium they went to their first weekend here in Tokyo. Makoto was adamant about wanting to explore the city, and the aquarium was first on his list. And of course Haru remembers the matching gifts they got that one Christmas Eve; it’s no coincidence Makoto brought up that memory tonight.

Makoto thinks it’s suddenly getting too warm in the apartment. “Little Dolphin-chan. It’s so stupid, Haru,” he laughs. “I’m sorry.” He feels silly. It seemed like a cute gift at the time, but now he just feels embarrassed that he went all the way back to the aquarium just to buy it. 

Haru smiles and stands up. “Wait.” He opens the cabinet by his front door and takes out a small box, wrapped beautifully with red paper. He returns, setting it down in Makoto’s lap.

“Eh? For me?” Makoto unwraps the paper carefully and opens the box. He laughs and takes out the small orca plush, recognizing it from the same gift shop.

Haru can’t help but laugh, too. “Little Orca-chan, yeah?” He holds up his dolphin and speaks in his normal voice, pretending to be the toy, “Nice to meet you.”

They both can’t say anything for a moment because they're laughing too hard. Finally Makoto is able to catch his breath again. “It’s so stupid,” he repeats. “But honestly, Haru, it means a lot to me. Thank you for this. For all of this. For being with me. For… for not telling me that Santa isn’t real.” He feels tears in his eyes and knows they’re not from laughing.

Maybe it’s because of the implications of Christmas Eve as a romantic day, or maybe it’s just because he’s cold and tired. But Makoto’s emotions currently feel extremely present, and he lets the tears fall from his eyes with no attempt to stop them.

Haru reaches out to lightly wipe them away. He hopes Makoto can’t tell his hand is shaking, but he probably can. “Thank you, too. For giving me the best memories. For making me happy. For being that kid who believed in Santa.” He tries to blink back his tears, but a single drop betrays him and falls down his face past his smile.

Makoto laughs. “That’s not fair. You can’t cry, too.”

And then they don’t know what to do next. Makoto tries to alleviate the strange and unfamiliar awkwardness with something familiar. “Ah, remember this?” He holds up the orca and takes the dolphin, pressing them together in a kiss.

He feels a slight panic as he realizes how much more awkward he just made things. But that panic slides into an excitement as he and Haru move their faces closer to each other, driven by feelings they always felt and tried to ignore. Makoto's heart flutters with desire. He closes his eyes and feels Haru’s lips press against his. It’s a light feeling, soft. His first kiss. Not at all what he expected and yet, it feels completely perfectly right. His face tingles, but somehow he doesn’t blush. He’s not embarrassed; he’s comfortable. Makoto finally releases his intense grip on the orca toy and moves his hand to the back of Haru’s neck. Their tongues meet, just a little, just to see what it feels like.

They let their foreheads rest against each other for a moment before completely breaking away. And then Makoto sees it behind Haru. He glances to the window and then back to Haru, smiling widely. “It’s snowing, Haru-chan!”

Haru turns around and sees it. He watches the light flurries become suddenly heavy, amazed at how quickly the change happened.

Makoto’s face falls a little. “Ah, if this continues, we probably shouldn’t leave tomorrow. But I do miss being home.”

“I always feel like I’m home when I’m with you,” Haru says, his voice breaking just as he reaches the end of the declaration.

Makoto’s elated by those words; they’re true for him as well, they always have been. “You make everything so much easier.” He feels his cheeks blushing in response. “Then, let’s just plan on sleeping in tomorrow.”

Haru yawns as if on cue and nods. With that, the two of them stand up in agreement of it being bedtime.

Makoto grabs the blanket he was using earlier as they head toward Haru’s bed. “Can we use more blankets tonight?” 

Haru slips his hand effortlessly into Makoto’s. “We won’t be cold if we hold hands.” 

Makoto laughs; he can’t believe Haru remembers that. He intertwines their fingers and gives a gentle squeeze. Their time together tonight was short, but they managed to stretch it as far as it could possibly go, and probably even past that. Makoto’s not sad about it ending, because something new and exciting is beginning. He looks forward to tomorrow, to the future, and to the endless days and nights he'll spend with Haru.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I truly hope you have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!


End file.
